Abstract/Notes: This chapter describes the development and implementation of a programme providing higher and continuing education for imprisoned women in Hawai‘i. The purpose of the chapter is to show how the programme, which was based on principles of restorative justice and peace education, connects to and illustrates peace psychology. The programme consists of educational and restorative components. The education component provides women with opportunities to increase self-efficacy and personal agency. The project design motivates inner and relational peace by applying Montessori’s peace education and cooperative learning theories. The restorative re-entry planning process increases respect, empathy, and redemption. The value of respect advanced by Montessori and restorative justice is embedded in the project. Through cooperative learning and restorative re-entry planning practices, the women build supportive and peaceful relationships both internally and relationally to help decrease the structural violence that they have experienced. This chapter describes research supporting education for incarcerated women to address structural violence. The chapter includes an explanation of concepts and applications of cooperative learning and restorative re-entry planning circles and discusses their effectiveness in generating inner and relational peace. This chapter describes how education can increase incarcerated women’s personal agency, self-efficacy, and confidence, creating inner and relational peace, leading to successful re-entry and decreased domestic violence. The program addresses the connection between lack of personal agency and domestic violence, problems shared by many women, incarcerated and otherwise, throughout the world. The programme, created and conducted in Hawai‘i, could be replicated by other correctional institutions.

Language: English

Published: Cham, Switzerland: Springer, 2022

ISBN: 978-3-031-13101-1

Series: Peace Psychology Book Series

Abstract/Notes: The purpose of the research was to find whether the creation of self-assessed student work portfolios would be effective in engaging students in learning opportunities and lead to self-regulated behaviors. The research project was conducted in an upper elementary classroom. The class consists of twenty-three grade four to grade six Montessori students in a private school. Ten students have had a Montessori education starting in preschool, eight students started in grade three, two were held back a year, two students started in grade four, and two students started in grade six. Fifty-two percent of the class has a form of learning difference; prominently dyslexia. Three students are on the Autism spectrum. The sources of data used in this research included observation forms, self-assessment forms, journal prompts, teacher reflection journal, and student-teacher interviews. The results indicated an increase in engagement in learning and self-regulated behaviors. This was equally evident in the students with different learning needs. Implications are that empowering students with self-assessment and choices of work improves work habits and leads to better quality of learning outcomes and engagement. Students improved the most when they combined their self-assessment with peer feedback and were given direct responsibility for the creation of their own portfolio.

Language: English

Published: St. Paul, Minnesota, 2014

Abstract/Notes: The purpose of this study was to investigate what effect an alternative assessment strategy would have on students’ engagement, motivation, and overall learning in an urban, private Montessori middle school program located in the Midwest. Two teachers and 13 students participated in two phases (one social studies and one science unit) over the course of six weeks. Teacher-assigned grades on class and homework were removed and replaced with student-determined final grades based on self-assessment using collaboratively created rubrics and individual portfolios. Students kept daily learning logs and completed a pre- and post-unit survey designed to measure their level of engagement, motivation, and learning preferences. The researcher kept daily observational notes as well as tallies of behavioral markers for engagement and disengagement. Students were also invited to give open-ended feedback about their experience at the end of the intervention. The results showed that while the alternative assessment model did not have a direct impact on students’ daily engagement or intrinsic motivation, it did increase students’ understanding of how their work correlated to a final grade in the unit, and it created opportunities for students to make connections to their learning and thus more actively plan their future work. Additionally, a direct correlation appeared between the level of student activity and student engagement in classes, indicating the importance of reducing passivity as much as possible in the daily learning process.

Language: English

Published: St. Paul, Minnesota, 2017

Language: English

Language: English

ISSN: 0519-0959

Language: English

Language: English

Language: English

Language: English

ISSN: 0882-3863

Language: English